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Mr Prime Minister, debate this!

by Praba Ganesan
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 15, 2012

MARCH 15 — So Najib does not like to debate. But why not?

Some people don’t like to eat oranges, we let them be.

So I suppose if some have the right to not like round juicy objects which are hard-going — peeling with your hands and all (so prole!) — you can equally extend this right to Datuk Seri Najib Razak in other arbitrary matters, such as refusing to debate publicly about our country’s current path and how to raise the bar as a progressive society.

However, the prime minister has to keep some consistency, just so the historians characterise him right later.

He should start by closing down Parliament. This is an institution intended to encourage our finest political minds to have laborious, unyielding and rarely funny discussions about the country, mostly by disagreeing. Continue reading “Mr Prime Minister, debate this!”

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When ministers talk nonsense

— Abdul Haleem
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 14, 2012

MARCH 14 — One of the prolonged illnesses, which afflicts Malaysian politics, is ministers coming out with stupid if not absurd statements. Usually it is followed by a sudden flip flop.

Today, we have our Tourism Minister saying foreigners are shunning the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme, because they do not perceive the country to be peaceful and stable. Bernama reported Datuk Dr Ng Yen Yen blaming recent street demonstrations for hindering promotional efforts for MM2H. She even said that “this is the key barrier preventing foreigners from staying in Malaysia for long period.”

I have a question for her. When did we launch the MM2H programme and since then how many street demos have we seen in Malaysia? Just because she is running out of ideas to explain her ministry’s failures she should not assume Malaysians will just accept her idiotic answers. An SPM student would be able to cook up more concrete reasons than her. Or perhaps this MM2H was a failure from day one. Continue reading “When ministers talk nonsense”

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Don’t cry for me Argentina: Shahrizat resigns!

— Sakmongkol AK47
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 15, 2012

MARCH 15 — The other night as I was surfing the Astro channels, I came upon an interview with a crying woman. She was crying because Shahrizat Abdul Jalil had announced she would resign her Cabinet post. The poor crying woman was also saying — if Shahrizat resigns, then Nik Aziz must also resign. I suppose she was alluding to the case involving Nik Aziz’s son in law. The SIL was cleared.

The woman need not worry. If it’s a case involving opposition politicians and those related to them in question, the government machinery will leave no stones unturned to get to the bottom of the case.

Let me share with you the thoughts of a frequent visitor to my blog. This person shows he is a concerned Malaysian, mindful of the future of our country. He comments under the penname of OneMalaysian. Continue reading “Don’t cry for me Argentina: Shahrizat resigns!”

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Not sub judice to discuss NFC in Parliament, court ruling shows

By Clara Chooi
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 14, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, March 15 — The Dewan Rakyat Speaker’s reliance on the rule of sub judice to shut down discussion of the National Feedlot Centre (NFC) scandal in Parliament is flawed, a recent court decision shows.

The High Court, in a contempt suit filed by Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (SYABAS) against a Selangor government lawyer and PAS organ Harakah last year, had held that the courts must be cautious in applying the sub judice law and must also take into consideration constitutional provisions on the freedom of speech.

According to the judgment sighted by The Malaysian Insider today, Justice Ariff Yusof, when rejecting the application, had stressed that the common law rule on sub judice must be moulded “in the light of fundamental liberties provisions”.

“The court cannot believe the sensitivities of the average Malaysian can be so different so as to incline the court to adopt a completely different juristic approach which relegates freedom of expression below the sub judice rule,” he had said. Continue reading “Not sub judice to discuss NFC in Parliament, court ruling shows”

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Fixed dates for elections

— P. Ramakrishnan
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 14, 2012

MARCH 14 — Aliran executive committee members have a discussion before making their submissions to the Parliamentary Select Committee on Electoral Reforms

Elections should not be a cat-and-mouse game. It should never be a guessing game either. There should be a definite predetermined date that is publicly disclosed so that everyone knows the date of the next general election.

This is practised by a number of countries which have a fixed date for the election. Among them are Norway and Switzerland with fixed dates. Canada and its provinces (Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Northwest Territories) have implemented fixed-term elections too.

In the United Kingdom the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 fixes the general election on the first Thursday in May every five years. Elections to the European Parliament occur every five years in June. Continue reading “Fixed dates for elections”

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Was Shahrizat’s act really a sacrifice?

by Kee Thuan Chye
March 14, 2012

Shahrizat did not ‘resign’. She knew the time was up, and perhaps the game too.

Let’s get this right. Shahrizat Abdul Jalil did not, in the strict sense of the word, resign. She merely chose to relinquish her position as Women, Family and Community Development Minister just a little ahead of April 8, when her senatorship would expire.

And her guess was probably as good as many people’s that her senatorship would not be extended, given that she’s now a liability to her party, Umno.

Ever since the National Feedlot Corporation (NFCorp) scandal broke out, she has been hounded for the fact that the company belongs to her family. Despite her claims that she had nothing to do with how the NFCorp got a RM250 million soft loan from the government while she was a member of the Cabinet, few people actually believe her.

So, if her senatorship were to be extended, Umno’s chances at the coming general election would have been severely impaired.

So no, she did not ‘resign’. She knew the time was up, and perhaps the game too. Continue reading “Was Shahrizat’s act really a sacrifice?”

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Will the charge against NFC boss be an escapade for BN?

— Kim Quek
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 14, 2012

MARCH 14 — It appears that the charge of NFC chairman Mohamed Salleh Ismail in court is a tactical move to get away from the scorching NFC scandal – the same way Barisan Nasional has got away with the RM12.5 billion PKFZ ghost town scandal and the Khir Toyo corruption scandal.

This move is known as the “decoy and silence” tactic, which has been BN’s time-tested strategy to slip away from a high corruption scandal entrapment. It is simply to initiate a peripheral charge to divert attention from the real issue and use the court action as shield to fence-off further attacks on ground of “sub judice”.

This is vividly illustrated in Parliament on March 13, a day after Mohamed Salleh was charged, when Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia absurdly cited the current court case as reason to reject an emergency motion on the NFC project debacle tabled by MP Zuraida Kamaruddin, despite the latter explaining that her issue was with the ministries which approved the project, and not with Mohamed Salleh’s misconduct, which is the subject matter of the current court case.

And on the same day, Agriculture Minister Noh Omar, under whose jurisdiction the NFC project falls, deflected all questions on the scandal on the equally ridiculous suggestion of sub judice; while Barisan Nasional MP Abdul Rahman Dahlan falsely claimed that the court is now the best platform to thrash out the issues, adding that the party that should answer questions is NFC, and not the ministries.

Apparently, BN hopes that with Mohamed Salleh in the dock, the BN government would be left in peace. Continue reading “Will the charge against NFC boss be an escapade for BN?”

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Lynas Corp’s absurd publicity stunts

— Iskandar Dzulkarnain
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 14, 2012

MARCH 14 — Nick Curtis the CEO of Lynas Corp had expressed his interest to meet with the Chief Minister of Penang Lim Guan Eng during the latter’s visit to Australia on March 23. Lim has politely refused to meet up with the CEO until he has discussed with the Anti-Lynas group.

Instead, he has asked Curtis to meet up with the anti-Lynas group snubbing that he is the wrong person, while the CM of Pahang should be the right person to meet with Nick Curtis.

Undeterred, Lynas Corp in a statement to Bernama, said the invitation would be kept open and the company welcomed the opportunity to help Lim understand its investment in the rare earth plant in Gebeng, Kuantan.

But the truth is, what can the Penang CM do to alleviate the current controversy surrounding the Lynas rare earth plant? Would his personal opinion or intervention buy over the thousands of critics who are against the existence of the Rare Earth Plant in Pahang State?

Isn’t it more appropriate to meet with Anwar Ibrahim, the leader of Pakatan Rakyat who is against the controversial project based on allegations that the Australian miner has not given enough assurances on how it will handle the low-level radioactive waste that will be produced at the refinery?

Really, it would make more sense for the Lynas CEO to meet with the anti-Lynas group than the CM of Penang, as Penang has no say or jurisdiction towards the project in Pahang State. Continue reading “Lynas Corp’s absurd publicity stunts”

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Malaysia after regime change

— Ooi Kee Beng
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 14, 2012

MARCH 14 — Malaysia had to begin life as a federation because, like all federations, its diversity of polity, culture, history, ethnicity and economy was simply too deep for a centrally controlled regime to be practicable.

That was why the Malayan Union of 1946, hopefully constructed by a colonial power recovering from a devastating world war and that badly needed to simplify its control apparatus, could never succeed. Indirect and de facto colonialism was acceptable, but centralised and direct colonialism was too much for the Malay community to accept.

And yet, as became clear in the aftermath of the 2008 general election, the country nevertheless had in reality become centrally controlled by a coalition centred around Umno (United Malays National Organisation), the party formed in 1946 by Onn Ja’afar to fight the Malayan Union.

The 2008 election results can thus be read as a strong negative reaction by the newly-liberated electorate to this sustained political denial of the country’s historical diversity. Continue reading “Malaysia after regime change”

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Lynas: What were the IAEA experts thinking on the plane home?

By Rama Ramanathan | March 13, 2012
The Malaysian Insider

MARCH 13 — The written word doesn’t make faces. Technical reports don’t include snide remarks. International experts don’t publicly reveal some of what they’re really thinking. I wonder what the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts were really thinking when they said:

“The 1-2 tons bags of the rare earths concentrate will be transported by road from Mt Weld to Perth (or a nearby port) in 20 ton land-sea containers. From Perth, the containers will be moved on ships to Singapore. From Singapore, smaller vessels will move the containers to Kuantan. Up to Kuantan, the rare earths concentrate will be shipped as normal non-radioactive material, in accordance with international regulations. From Kuantan port, the containers will be trucked 15 km to the Lynas facility in Gebeng. Malaysian regulations require the concentrate to be treated as radioactive material.” [Adapted from IAEA International Review Mission (29 May – 03 June 2011) Report, page 27.]

Do you get it? According to international standards, the material can be handled like any soil. Then, when it lands in Malaysia, “it’s radioactive.” It’s like saying Australian apples are safe worldwide, but not in Malaysia.

This for me is the Lynas dilemma. Continue reading “Lynas: What were the IAEA experts thinking on the plane home?”

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RM500 buys…

— Lucius Goon
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 13, 2012

MARCH 13 — It is not surprising that PM Najib Razak says that the government will give cash to Malaysians if revenue goes up. He has found out that his disbursement of RM500 has been a success. Nothing it seems keeps Malaysians happy than some lucre in the pocket.

Najib knows this and if it means emptying the coffers to win the election he will do it. The PM a great believer in deal-making knows that RM500 will…

•persuade many Malaysians to have amnesia and forget the catalogue of flip-flops and mistakes from Najib who has inherited mantle of flip-flop king from Abdullah Badawi.

•make Malaysians forget about the string of corruption issues and dodgy deals from the development of land near Martrade (Naza TTDI) to the rm9 billion patrol boats to the super sweetheart West Coast Highway deal (60 year toll concession) to the RM2.2 billion Kidex highway. Continue reading “RM500 buys…”

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The say sorry game

— Sakmongkol AK47
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 13, 2012

MARCH 13 — Malaysians are learning a new political game- The Apology Game. The apologiser- in- chief is of course Najib Razak. He has said sorry for those undefined Umno wrongs. Maybe he is sorry he couldn’t plug the gaping hole that allowed RM 1.3 trillion to leave the country. Crooks associated with Umno embezzled money belonging to this country. Its financial mayhem. Saying sorry is sufficient.

Sources of regret

Maybe he is also sorry for the endless list of financial scandals that were caused by Umno. He is sorry for dismembering up the iconic MAS. He is sorry, for destroying the future of Felda. 5 years from now, when Felda doesn’t have the funds to manage and operate the 112,000 settlers in the Felda schemes, the government steps in making up for the loss in revenue. What was the cause of the loss in revenue in the first place?

The ravenous appetite of Umno politician businessmen. Continue reading “The say sorry game”

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Parliament skirts questions on Tajudin Ramli settlement

By S Pathmawathy | 2:16PM Mar 13, 12
Malaysiakini

Four questions related to the out-of-court settlement between former Malaysia Airlines chairperson Tajudin Ramli and government-linked corporations (GLCs) were rejected by the Dewan Rakyat today on grounds that these are sub judice.

The questions were turned down on the reasoning that the matter could have an implication on other ongoing legal battles in the Court of Appeal and pending cases in the Kuala Lumpur High Court.

tajudin ramli 1The questions were submitted by DAP MPs Lim Guan Eng (Bagan), Lim Lip Eng (Segambut), Jeff Ooi (Jelutong) and Tony Pua (Petaling Jaya Utara), and were interrelated to the government’s instructions in ordering the GLCs to end the long-drawn battle.

“These questions are important… we want to know the rationale and benefit to the rakyat by settling out of court the multi-million ringgit that Tajudin was ordered to pay by the High Court,” Guan Eng told a press conference at the Parliament lobby today.

Last month, Tajudin came to a settlement with Pengurusan Danaharta Bhd (Danaharta) putting an end to a six-year dispute over millions of ringgit that Tajudin owed to the national asset management firm.
Continue reading “Parliament skirts questions on Tajudin Ramli settlement”

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Putrajaya says ‘recycled’ projects part of ETP ‘ecosystem’

By Shannon Teoh | March 13, 2012
The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, March 13 — Putrajaya today defended its move to “recycle” two projects to be included into its Economic Transformation Programme (ETP), insisting were part of the “whole ecosystem” to push Malaysia into a high-income economy.

Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk S. K. Devamany told Parliament that it was unfair to single out projects like the Karambunai Integrated Resort and the Tanjong Agas Industrial Park as they formed part of a cohesive plan along with other megaprojects.

“It is part of a whole ecosystem where incentives such as infrastructure is given to encourage both local and foreign private sectors to invest. It’s a damn good programme.

“In principle, an EPP must fulfil two conditions, which is to have a significant impact on gross national income between 2010 to 2020 and to go through several rounds of consultation with stakeholders,” he said in reply to Ipoh Timor MP Lim Kit Siang.
Continue reading “Putrajaya says ‘recycled’ projects part of ETP ‘ecosystem’”

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Shahrizat seorang sahajakah yang berhenti? Seorang lagi tu macam mana?

Oleh Aspan Alias | March 13, 2012
The Malaysian Insider

13 MAC — Shahrizat Jalil mengambil keputusan untuk meletakkan jawatan hanya pada 8hb April nanti apabila penggal keahliannya di Dewan Senat tamat tempohnya. Perletakkan jawatan ini sepatutnya sudah diambilnya sebaik sahaja terbongkar salahlaku keluarganya menyalahgunakan wang pinjaman dari kerajaan untuk mengendalikan perniagaan NFC itu. Tetapi setidak-tidaknya beliau mengambil juga tindakan untuk melepaskan jawatan kabinet yang dipegangnya melalui pintu belakang itu.

Walaupun beliau pada mulanya berusaha untuk mengekalkan jawatan itu, tetapi etika politiknya yang nyata sangat menjengkelkan itu tidak berdaya beliau untuk mempertahankan jawatan yang amat beliau sayangi itu. Sesungguhnya itu sahaja jalan yang tinggal untuknya lakukan kerana kesalahan etikanya sangat menjelikkan kerana suaminya itu mendapat pinjaman semudah itu kerana kedudukan Shahrizat didalam kabinet negara.

Seperti yang saya nyatakan dahulu, jika Shahrizat itu hanya seorang bidan kampung, Salleh tidak mungkin mendapat pinjaman dengan menggunakan wang rakyat dengan semudah itu. Semua keistimewaan-keistimewaan yang didapati oleh ahli keluarga pemimpin ini telah banyak memerah wang dan harta rakyat. Tetapi Shahrizat ini malang sedikit kerana beliau tidak mempunyai kuasa dan pengaruh sepenuhnya.
Continue reading “Shahrizat seorang sahajakah yang berhenti? Seorang lagi tu macam mana?”

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Shahrizat is no sacrificial lamb

By Jacob Sinnathamby | March 12, 2012
The Malaysian Insider

MARCH 12 — I find it shocking that even till the last, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak wanted the last stab to insult Malaysians.

At least we deserve some modicum of respect from the prime minister. Throughout the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC), he and his government have insulted us with their indifference to the glaring fact that the BN government granted RM250 million to a family who were ill-equipped to run this feedlot business. Instead, they used the funds to buy properties and live comfortable lives.

Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil’s culpability starts and ends with several facts and assumptions including that her expenses were paid by the NFC and that it is likely that her connections allowed her family to get the contract.

It is impossible to believe that the decision makers ,who included Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Najib, gave the contract and the soft loan to greenhorns with no consideration to the fact that Shahrizat leads Wanita Umno.
Continue reading “Shahrizat is no sacrificial lamb”

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What Will People Say?

By M. Bakri Musa

When the late Tun Razak moved his family to Sri Taman, the Prime Minister’s official residence at that time, his children pleaded with him to have a swimming pool installed. The Tun, acutely aware of the costs to the public, would have none of it.

“What will people say?” he told his children.

Not that the Tun did not want to indulge his children or that he was being unduly stingy, rather he was conscious of the need to differentiate the personal from the official. Unlike many especially from the Third World, then as well as now, Tun Razak was the rare leader who did not consider the public treasury to be his. Even when there were grey areas, as with the swimming pool, he would err on the side of not burdening the public with the cost.

It could be argued that since Sri Taman was government property, expenditures on improving it as with building the pool should be borne by the public. However, as the pool would benefit essentially only the prime minister’s family and invited guests, he acted with an abundance of prudence and probity in refusing to have the pool installed.
Continue reading “What Will People Say?”

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Shahrizat sacrificed herself, says Najib

By Shannon Teoh
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 11, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, March 11 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak commended Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil today for her decision to sacrifice herself and quit the Cabinet for the sake of the government and Umno.

The prime minister told reporters in Pekan this evening Shahrizat’s move to relinquish her women, family and community development portfolio when her senatorship ends on April 8 was the appropriate and right thing to do.

He said he appreciated the sacrifice made by Shahrizat and was thankful for her decision.

“Although there is no proof so far that she had committed any offence, because the NFC issue has drawn controversy and dispute, she was willing to withdraw from the government,” he told reporters, referring to the National Feedlot Centre.

Shahrizat had said earlier today she will resign as women, family and community minister next month but stay on as Wanita Umno chief after being dogged for over four-and-a-half months by the NFC scandal.

The former Lembah Pantai MP and her family were accused by the opposition of using a RM250 million federal loan meant for the project to pay for land, property and expenses unrelated to cattle farming.

The cattle-rearing company is headed by her husband, Datuk Seri Mohamad Salleh Ismail, and their three children.

It was tapped to run the National Feedlot Centre (NFC) in Gemas, Negeri Sembilan in 2006, when Shahrizat was in Cabinet.

The former Lembah Pantai MP previously resisted calls from within her own party, including by influential former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, to quit, stressing that she was “only the wife” of Salleh and had nothing to do with the embattled entity. Continue reading “Shahrizat sacrificed herself, says Najib”

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Lynas: Why in Malaysia, not in Australia?

— Rama Ramanathan
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 11, 2012

MARCH 11 — Previously I said that the root cause of the Lynas controversy is our ‘need’ for things that need rare earths. These things include cellphones, disk drives and television sets. I also said that China supplies over 95 per cent of the world demand for rare earths, and that the Lynas plant could supply up to 35 per cent of world demand.

I added that the attitude of the government of Malaysia toward its citizens is less like that of the government of Australia and more like that of the government of China. Much of what I said was sparked by the observation that Lynas has chosen to do something which seems rather strange to those who remember tin mining.

Malaysia was at one time teeming with tin mines. The tin was dug up, processed into high purity ingots and shipped worldwide. We didn’t ship ore. We shipped tin. Similarly, we don’t ship what we harvest from oil palms. Instead, we convert the fresh fruit and bunches into products which we sell worldwide. Malaysia is a world leader not only in growing oil palm, but also in processing oil palm and it’s effluents.

So, why is Australia — a mining nation — not processing the ore into the final product? Continue reading “Lynas: Why in Malaysia, not in Australia?”

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Are Najib and Cabinet Ministers going to keep quiet about the serious allegations of corruption and subversion of the rule of law in 2007 involving the three topmost officers of the land, the AG, IGP and DG of ACA?

Today, Malaysiakini followed up on the revelations and serious allegations by former Commercial Crimes Investigation Department (CCID) Chief Datuk Ramli Yusuf during his 60th Leap Year birthday celebrations last month that he was a victim of Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail’s abuse of his constitutional powers with new information on the “bizarre five-year-old case allegedly involving the country’s most powerful police officer, the attorney-general and an underworld figure”.

The question now is whether the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, and Cabinet Ministers are going to keep quiet about the serious allegations of corruption and subversion of the rule of law with regard to the case in 2007 involving the three topmost officers of the land, the Attorney-General, the Inspector-General of Police and the Director-General of the Anti-Corruption Agency (before it later became Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency). Continue reading “Are Najib and Cabinet Ministers going to keep quiet about the serious allegations of corruption and subversion of the rule of law in 2007 involving the three topmost officers of the land, the AG, IGP and DG of ACA?”